Nail polish applicator



Jan. 15, 1963 H. SPERBER NAIL POLISH APPLICATOR' Filed :41

Patented Jan. 15, 1963 3,073,319 NAIL POLISH APPLICATOR Herbert Sperber,Brooklyn, NY. (395 Broadway, New York, N.Y.) Filed May 9, 1960, Ser. No.29,555 1 Claim. (Cl. 132-73) This invention relates generally to thefield of small bottles, anddispensing closures therefor, and moreparticu larly to an improved nail polish applicator having means forproviding a reservoir permitting continuous feeding of nail polish to apoint of application as desired by the user.

Devices of this type are generally known in the art, and have sufferedfrom a serious disadvantage in that the bulk of the same have not beencapable of providing a completely hermetic seal when secured within theopen end of a bottle, with resultant loss of volatile solvent throughthe closure. Such devices have also exhibited a tendency to becomecemented in closed position, making removal of the dispensing closurediflicult after the device has been used several times.

It is therefore among the principal objects of the present invention toprovide an improved nail polish applicator of the class described inwhich the above-mentioned disadvantages have been substantiallyeliminated.

Another object of the invention lies in the provision of an improvednail polish dispenser which may be formed completely of flexiblesynthetic resinous material, and in which the component parts may effecta hermetic seal with respect to the neck of a container of volatileliquid.

Still another object of the invention lies in the incorporation of aunitized dispensing closure which may be manufactured at a costcomparable with existing prior art devices, thereby permittingconsequent wide sale, distribution and use.

Still another object of the invention lies in the provision of animproved nail polish applicator dispensing device which may be formedcompletely from a material to which lacquer-like materials will notadhere, thereby pre venting an accumulation of nail polish frompreventing removal of the dispenser from the neck opening of a containerwhen desired.

A feature of the invention lies in the provision of novel applicatorbrush construction maintained within a hollow tube by resilientfrictional forces, thereby making assembly of the device an extremelyfacile operation.

These objects and features, as well as other incidental ends andadvantages, will more fully appear in the progress of the followingdisclosure, and be pointed out in the appended claim.

In the drawing, to which reference will be made in the specification,similar reference characters have been employed to designatecorresponding parts throughout the several views.

FIGURE 1 is a view in elevation of an embodiment of the invention.

FIGURE 2 is an exploded view in elevation of the I stopper elementcomprising a part of the embodiment.

'FIGURE 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of the stopper element inassembled condition.

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged transverse sectional view as seen from the plane4-4 in FIGURE 3.

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary enlarged sectional view as seen from the plane5-5 in FIGURE 3.

FIGURE 6 is a sectional view corresponding to that seen in FIGURE 4, butshowing a flexible tube element in distorted condition during theinstallation of a brush element at the lower end thereof.

FIGURE 7 is a view in perspective showing the stopper element in use.

in accordance with the invention, the device, generally indicated byreference character It], comprises broadly: a bottle element 11, adispensing stopper element 12, a flexible tube element 13, and a brushelement 14.

The bottle element 11, may be of conventional configuration andmanufacture, preferably including an upper opening 317 of standard 15mm. diameter.

The stopper element 12 is preferably formed from molded polyethylene toinclude an outer cylindrical member' 2d, an inner cylindrical member 21-and an annular sealing member 22, the members 29-22, inclusive, beingpreferably molded integrally. A flexible membrane member 23 isresiliently seated upon the member 22, as best seen in FIGURE 3.

The outer cylindrical member 2-0 includes a lower flange 24 having anouter surface 25, a lower edge surface 26 and an inner surface 27. Theupper portion 28 thereof is provided with a continuous thread 29selectively engageable with a corresponding thread (not shown) on theouter surface of the neck of the bottle element 11. The thread 29preferably extends to the under surface 30 of the sealing member 22. Theouter cylindrical member 20 also includes an upper flange member 31having an outer surface 32, an upper surface 33, an inner surface 34 andan annular groove 35 adjacent to the upper surface 36 of the sealingmember 22.

The inner cylindrical member 21 includes an outer surface 33, and aninner surface 39, there being an annular groove 40 extending from theinner surface 39 to the body of the member 21. A centrally disposed bore41 extends from the upper surface 36 to the surface 39.

The flexible membrane 23 includes a cylindrical base portion 43 havingan annular lip 44 thereon and a centrally disposed flexible portion 45which may be of reduced thickness. 1

The flexible tube element 13 is adapted to be seated in the annulargroove 40, and is bounded by an upper edge surface 48, an inner surface49, and an outer surface 50. The lower end 51 thereof is conicallytapered as best seen in FIGURES 3 and 5 and includes an opening 52 ofrelatively reduced diameter.

The brush element 14 includes a plurality of bristles 54 seated in apolyethylene tubular base member 55. As best seen in FIGURES 4, 5 and 6,the lower portion 56 of the base is of generally circular cross section,While the upper portion 57 is flattened to a degree wherein the width ofthe same is just slightly greater than the inner diameter of the tubeelement 13. The brush element 14 is seated within the tube element 13 asshown in FIGURE 6, wherein the tube element 13 is squeezed to an ovalcross section wherein the brush element may be dropped thereinto tobecome lodged in the lower end 51. Subsequent release of the tubeelement causes the inner surface 49 to resiliently engage the flattenedportion 57, wherein frictional forces retain the same in the positionshown in the drawing.

The device is used as illustrated in FIGURE 7, wherein polish issupplied to the brush element under pressure as required. It will beobserved that the sealing member 22 prevents the escape of volatilesolvents into the chamber 59 defined by the membrane 23, since allpassage of liquid or volatile solvent must be through the tube element13, the lower end of which is normally immersed below the surface of thenail polish (not shown).

I wish it to be understood that I do not consider the invention limitedto the precise details of structure shown and set forth in thisspecification, for obvious modifications will occur to those skilled inthe art to which the invention pertains.

I claim:

A nail polish applicator for use with a bottle having an externallythreaded neck opening, comprising, a dispensing stopper means includingan outer cylindrical element, an inner cylindrical element, and anannular scaling member, all integrally formed from a flexible syntheticresinous material, said inner cylindrical element having a continuousbore extending therethrough, an elongated hollow tube extendingdownwardly from said inner cylindrical element and connected tocommunicate with said bore, said outer cylindrical element having anannular flange thereon and a flexible membrane disposed in sealedrelation within said annular flange to form a compressible chambercommunicating with said bore in said inner cylindrical element, saidelongated hollow tube being of flexible synthetic resinous material andresiliently flattenable, a brush element having a tubular base and aplurality of bristles extending outwardly thereof, a portion of saidbase being flattened and having a width slightly greater than theinternal diameter of said hollow tube in undistorted condition, andmaintained within said elongated tube by frictional contact therewith.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,030,137 Smith June 18, 1912 1,313,566 Trowbridge Aug. 19, 19191,822,296 Keilly Sept. 8, 1931 2,791,788 Smith et al. May 14, 1957FOREIGN PATENTS 738,927 Great Britain Oct. 19, 1955

